Former 'Seinfeld' star apologizes for homophobic remarks

Former "Seinfeld" star Jason Alexander has apologized after comments he made in a TV interview about cricket being a "gay sport" were deemed homophobic.

The "Seinfeld" star, who played George Costanza in the hit comedy, made the remarks on CBS' Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Friday, suggesting the game of cricket was a “gay sport” as opposed to a “manly” one like baseball. Alexander also said the cricket pitch was "queer."

"You know how I know it's really kind of a gay game? It's the pitch," Alexander noted in the interview, as cited by Towleroad. "It's the weirdest… It's not like a manly baseball pitch; it's a queer British gay pitch."

"It's a gay game. There's a lot of people wearing white, people wearing helmets for no discernible reason, people not wearing helmets that look like they should have a helmet. Everybody breaks for tea," Alexander added, according to the Telegraph.

Having had time to more carefully consider the jokes he made though, the 52-year-old actor took to Twitter's TwitLonger to issue a more-than-1,000-word apology, explaining how conversations with his gay friends made him realize the effect that kind of denigrating humor has on the adolescents that so often find themselves the subject of it, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reported.

"For these people [the LGBT community], my building a joke upon the premise I did added to the pejorative stereotype that they are forced to deal with everyday," he writes. "It is at the very heart of this whole ugly world of bullying that has been getting rightful and overdue attention in the media. And with my well-intentioned comedy bit, I played right into those hurtful assumptions and diminishments."

"So, I can only apologize and I do. In comedy, timing is everything. And when a group of people are still fighting so hard for understanding, acceptance, dignity and essential rights – the time for some kinds of laughs has not yet come. I hope my realization brings some comfort."